That one pep talk we all need right now

Being a college kid sucks right now.

Finals are two weeks away and everyone is so sleep-deprived and stressed and really ready for a break. It’s so easy to lose steam right now. The day I come back from Thanksgiving break, I have two papers due. What the heck? Can’t a kid rest every once in a while?

Holy burn out, Batman.

The finish line is in sight, so I press on. But boy, I’m tired.

Here’s something I need to hear today, and I’d like to share it with you:

It doesn’t matter if you’re a freshman, a senior, or a senior citizen. We all get burnt out from time to time. Life can burn you out, can’t it? It’s hard and exhausting and sometimes it’s bed time and I think can I just go back to bed and start this day over? Because sometimes I screw up, majorly, and the day already sucks before I even get up in the morning. (Or, let’s be real, by the time I get up in the afternoon. I’m a college kid.)

But you know what? You got this. You are one tough cookie. You have had a life so far, a life that has had its ups and downs. But you are strong. You have one big, buff, worked-out and worked-on heart that is ready to take your life by storm.

What’s making you so weary? Change it. Stop waiting for your circumstances to change themselves. Go back to school and get your master’s, even if you’ve been in the same career for 20 years and change makes your knees buckle. Or, if you’re really feeling the YOLO life motto, get your doctorate. Don’t pass up the opportunity to live the life you really want to see in the mirror in the morning. You only live once, you know.

What relationship is holding you back? Maybe it’s time to say goodbye, or maybe it’s just time to say hey. I’m tired. I think I need a break. A good friend won’t blame, judge, or criticize. A good friend will give you the space you’re asking for.

If they don’t…hey, maybe goodbye is for the best.

Here’s the thing: sometimes, life just sucks. Life is just hard. There’s no good explanation for it, and there’s nobody to blame. It’s just how it is.

When life is hard, you have three options:

1) Get depressed, groan, cry, etc. There’s nothing you can do, so you enter the eternal cycle of Ick, Suck, and Crap. It’s my party so I’ll cry if I want to.

2) Denial. What? Life is great. Why would you ever say life is hard? Life is freaking awesome! Now don’t mind me as I lock myself in my bathroom for a little while…not like I’m crying or anything…

OR

3) Sit in the muck for a little while. Embrace the suck. Let yourself feel crappy.It’s okay to feel that way. Being sad doesn’t make you weak–being sad is being honest. Then let yourself be done, pick yourself up again, and do something. It’s so easy to fall into the eternal downward spiral of sadness and eating ice cream for every meal. (What? I’ve never done that…)

Don’t let yourself go there. You can stop it before it starts.

So, College Kid or High School Kid or Grown-Up Kid or Elderly Kid: it’s time. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off. Start going to bed earlier so waking up in the morning doesn’t feel like leaving your bomb shelter. (NOTE: coffee ≠ good night of sleep.) Start encouraging other people–it makes you feel better. Start noticing the beautiful weather, even if it’s cold. Start dressing for comfort over appearance.

This is one of the busiest, most stressful seasons of the year, but don’t let it break you. The finish line is in sight.